Bandit Busy in UK with Massive Special Events

Bandit UK CE Lester Cobrin and the team in Bedford have had their hands full with some very large and prestigious events of late. The 2010 Horse of the Year Show, The 2010 Alternative hair Show and UFC 120 were all on the plate at Bandit and the team delivered the Bandit Standard on all occasions as the clients expected.

The Horse of the Year Show is Europe's largest annual celebration of equine events. This is attended by thousands of enthusiast and has been an annual event since 1949 when, as the brainchild of Captain Tony Collins, it was executed with Colonel Mike Ansell and Colonel VDS Williams. While the event was at Wembley Arena for many years, in 2002 it moved to the NEC Arena, Birmingham, where it consumes over 50 acres of real estate. Every year the event concludes with the Sunday Night Gala and Simon MacCorkindale reading “Ode to the Horse”.

Nadia Raibin of The Production Team engaged lighting designer Ben Fox and Bandit to again supply this world famous event. As you would expect from an event of this magnitude, there was miles of trussing and cables all suspended from hundreds of chain hoists across the many venues. The assorted kit chosen by Fox included hundreds of 1 K flood fixtures, 4 light units, MAC 2000 Profiles, MAC 2000 Washes, VL 3000 Spots, Source 4 lekos, Pixel PAR's, Avolites dimming and Whole Hog 2 consoles. The primary console operator was Mark Strange, while crew chief Peter “Fats” Parchment along with staff Steve “Stona” Ruslig, Mez Storrod, Benet Parchment and Vic Stuart kept watch over the event.

The Alternative Hair Show is an annual event in London at the Freemasons Hall, which celebrate the latest in coiffeur style. The entire world watches this premier event and indeed fashion is set at this show. Production manager Alan Pope and world-renowned lighting designer Simon Tutchener called on Bandit to supply illumination services for the event. As the name suggests, the event lends itself to needing a lot of white light if you will, and that in and of itself is a challenge, but one that Tutchener has artfully mastered. Using the standard Source 4 lekos, a few PARs and some 4 lights, Simon comes back and creates texture, depth and color with MAC 500's, MAC 600's, MAC 2000 Profiles and Washes, UV Guns and Lycian 1271 Starklites. Ewan Cameron masterfully ran the event on Grand MA consoles. Lighting crew chief Mike Humeniuk and his team of Nigel Julian, Dan Oswald, James Prince and Bryan Wilson made certain Tutchener's dreams became reality.

Bandit also continues on a long relationship with the global phenomenon UFC. London's O2 Arena played home to UFC 120. Randy Quick from Concom, Inc. worked with Cobrin, Bandit and lighting designer Jason Eible to produce the massive look UFC demands. Crew chief John Wynne and techs Dom Martin, Jonathan Dawson-Butterworth, Phil Kerwick, Steve Kerwick and Ian Day all pulled the show together in the O2. The kit list included piles of truss and cable, 6 lamp bars, Source 4 lekos, Source 4 PARs, MAC 600's, MAC 2000 Profiles and Washes, Coemar Infinity Washes, Pixel Par 90's and Martin Atomic Strobes, all controlled on 2 Avolites Pearl Experts.

This run of major events was in addition to the already large workload Bandit Lites has on in the UK and Europe. The team in Bedford looks forward to a busy Christmas season and a bright, new 2011.

About Bandit Lites

Bandit Lites is a global leader in the entertainment lighting marketplace. From touring productions to fixed installations, Bandit Lites has a full staff of highly trained professionals to deal with all types of lighting needs. With offices in Knoxville, Nashville, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Bandit's global presence will insure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you.